Latest news with #BobbyEpperly
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
‘Something … set him off': Mass stabbing at Orgon homeless shelter leaves 11 people injured
A mass stabbing at an Oregon homeless shelter sent 11 people to the hospital as officials said something set the suspect off before the attack. Police were called to the Union Gospel Mission in Salem, about an hour south of Portland, just after 7 p.m. Sunday following reports of a stabbing, police said. Victims suffered 'varying types of injuries' in the attack, and their conditions were unknown Monday morning, Angela Hendrick of the Salem Police Department said in a statement. Craig Smith, the executive director of the shelter, told NBC News the suspected attacker had just arrived at the facility the day before and was going to check in for a second night when he got into a fight. 'Something…set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,' Smith said. The altercation happened just as the man was about to turn over his belongings and check in. At least one staff member working at the check-in desk was injured, Smith said. Bobby Epperly was on the second floor of the shelter when he said he saw the man screaming outside at traffic and holding a knife, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. 'It's like a horror movie,' said Epperly, 48. He said he didn't realize some people had already been stabbed inside the building until he went downstairs and saw 'blood everywhere.' Another witness, Malik Law, said he saw the man stab at least seven people. 'Everybody was basically trying to move out of his way,' Law said. 'He started attacking them.' Police have arrested the suspect but have not named the man. The shelter, a faith-based organization, houses upwards of 150 homeless men and provides support services, food, clothing, case management and counseling.
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Stabbing attack at homeless shelter sends 11 people to hospital, man in custody
A stabbing attack at a homeless shelter sent 11 people to a hospital Sunday night in Salem, Oregon, and a man was in custody, a police spokesperson said. Police were called out at about 7:15 p.m. Sunday to the Union Gospel Mission, Angela Hedrick of the Salem Police Department said in a statement. She said the victims suffered 'varying types of injuries" and that their status was unknown. Executive Director Craig Smith told NBC News late Sunday that the attacker was new to the mission, having spent Saturday night there, and was about to check in for a second night when he got into a fight. 'Something ... set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,' Smith said. The altercation happened right before the man would have handed over his belongings to staff, and at least one staffer, who was working the mission's check-in desk, was injured in the attack, Smith said. Bobby Epperly was on the second floor when he said he saw the man screaming outside at traffic and holding a knife, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. 'It's like a horror movie,' said Epperly, 48. He said he didn't realize some people had already been stabbed inside the building until he went downstairs and saw 'blood everywhere.' Hedrick released no more details as detectives investigate. Messages seeking comment were left with the hospital and at the mission, where up to 150 homeless men seek refuge each night, according to its website.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘It's like a horror movie': 11 stabbed at unhoused shelter in Oregon
Eleven people were stabbed at a shelter for the unhoused in Salem, Oregon, on Sunday evening, according to authorities. Salem police said they arrested a man in connection with the mass stabbing carried out at about 7.15pm local time at a facility run by an organization called the Union Gospel Mission. The suspect was not immediately identified. First responders brought the victims to a local hospital with 'varying types' of wounds. Officials did not immediately provide exact details on the severity of the injuries, though the Salem Statesman Journal reported one victim was seen 'bleeding heavily from the neck'. The attacker had spent Saturday night at the Union Gospel Mission building but was considered new to the facility, the site's executive director, Craig Smith, said in an interview with NBC News. He apparently was about to check in for a second night – preparing to hand over his belongings to staff – when he got into a fight. 'Something … set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,' Smith told NBC. Smith said a mission employee working the check-in desk was among the wounded. He added that victims were found in the shelter's day room as well as outside the building – and that the facility's security video system captured 'the whole incident'. A Union Gospel mission resident, Bobby Epperly, told the Statesman Journal that there was 'blood everywhere' in the facility. 'It's like a horror movie,' Epperly said to the newspaper. Cellphone video circulating on social media reportedly showed the moment when the suspect in Sunday's mass stabbing was arrested. The video showed two police officers with pistols drawn successfully ordering a shirtless man to get on the ground before they handcuffed him. A man with a crutch approached the officers and the detained man – who were out on a street – before the police ordered him to back away. 'That's right – you're going in!' someone who was not in the video's frame can be heard screaming in the direction of the arrested man. Union Gospel Mission's website says it helps 'men, women and children break free from homelessness' through Christianity. A group of Christian businesspeople founded the non-profit ministry, which offers counseling and aims to house about 150 people nightly, according to its website. The attack occurred at a 50,000-sq-ft facility that was opened in 2021 after Union Gospel Mission moved out of another complex it had long used previously. It sits across the street from the Salem police department. In the US, shootings are the most common type of mass violence. But stabbings are also a relatively frequent way of carrying out mass violence in the country, data show.
